no return, no exchange

blue painterly dress - props | midnight blue cotton cover-up - thrifted | ash blue belt - primal rave | gold-glitter flats - solemate, sm department store | blue satchel - primal rave | bohemian necklace - downtown find | spiral bangle - primal rave | black hat - metro department store 

the required 7-hour seminar for would-be marrying couples that we attended last Sunday was expected to be a long day of droning lectures but instead turned out to be a fun and insightful experience. real-life couples who've been together for 10 - 38 years conducted the seminar which made it all the more relevant because they were sharing real-life experiences. my top three take-me-homes from the seminar:

♥ marriage is not always a bed of roses
♥ issues can be solved by open communication
♥ once married, there is a strict no return, no exchange policy

this is it -- there's no turning back! after all, we already made the down payment. LOL.

bohemian love

almost five years ago, i put on a blind-fold and took hold of his hand, not knowing where to go, not knowing where we'll end up. here we are and our hands are still tightly entwined.

styling and production design - cuckoo cloud concepts
photography - marlon capuyan
hmua - erika diaz

sayonara!

lemon and turquoise striped top with sequined pocket - primal rave | skinny jeans - thrifted | pink and gun-metal wedge sandals - people are people | blue satchel - primal rave | powder blue feather earrings - downtown find

last week i officially bid goodbye to a life i thought i wanted. i may sound like a broken record because i did do the same two years ago. 

two years ago though when i decided to leave to pursue my dreams, i really wasn't sure what i wanted to do, not even sure if i really knew what my dreams were. it was done on a whim -- that i just needed to get out of there. all i knew at that time was that i wanted to pursue fashion but was still very lost. no wonder i ended up lying awake at night, feeling very scared. 

i spent a year working for my sister and spiraled downwards by leaving that job too and taking a home-based online job which made me even unhappier. my sister saw me and said, "straighten up your life." a friend reminded me, "i thought you wanted to pursue management." so i got even more scared and went back to what was comfortable (and what earned me more money). 

at the end of the day though, everything felt redundant and soon very frustrating. i am a perfectionist by nature so i try to excel at everything i do but it doesn't necessarily mean that i loved what i am doing. i gave this life another chance but it's just not for me. 

this time, i have more clarity. if things don't seem clear though, i just have faith. and i am very lucky to have the support of my family and friends. this time, i may have gone cuckoo but i am happy. cuckoos may not have new shoes every month but walking is lighter. 

Style Inspiration: Just Cavalli Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear

one of the collections i always look forward to is roberto cavalli's -- whether it be his flagship Roberto Cavalli or his 2nd collection of the season, Just Cavalli. Cavalli satisfies my hunger for chic bohemian fashion -- his clothes have a luxe palette, rich texture and a genius symphony of prints. every item on the looks below are on my Christmas wish list. a girl can dream right? 

image sources

what are your favorites from Just Cavalli's Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection?

my sister blogs too!

my older sister has finally jumped the gun. after accompanying me to bloggers united 3, she saw what the commotion was about and what a wonderful community the philippine fashion bloggers had. we joked and convinced her to try blogging but she was hesitant because she said she wouldn't know what to say. i think it was after collaborating with various bloggers for PROPS did she finally decide to start her own blog. meet my sister, Charm and head on over to her blog: One Semi-Charmed Life.

oh yeah, i know you're thinking it --- my sister is TALL. she's 5'7" while i stand just a mere 5'2". LOL. i don't know what happened but she's the tallest in our family. my mom must have eaten a growth bean, or something. 

for those who have not read previous posts in my blog, i do have a little sister too. tres marias, is what they call us. all three of us love fashion and at one point, shared one whole continuous closet in our house when all 3 of us used to live together. my little sister is now in Sydney, Charm has left the nest after she got married and i've stayed back with the parents -- so we can say our closets are now strictly our own. 

the three of us have a project coming soon. *wink*

close your eyes and dive

polka boho top - primal rave | denim high-waisted cut offs - levi's, thrifted | camel woven flats - rubi shoes, cottonon.com | black and white turban - cottonon.com | tan fringe boho bag - urban originals, uo.com.au | bohemian layered necklace - downtown find | claw cuff - borrowed from mom

...i've always been a risk-taker of some sort. although i'm ironically afraid of failure but i've had so many instances in my life where i've leaned on my instincts, followed my emotions and jumped the gun. usually these instances turn out for the best. sometimes, they don't but they never come with utter regrets because regrets hurt most when you didn't take chance, don't you think?

i am about to embark on another chapter in my life. a scary yet exciting venture that draws on my passion and the love of arts. this seems familiar but this time i somehow know where i'm going. only a few more days to go and i'll be living the boho life.

P.S. i promise to tell you guys more about this venture -- for now, i'm making sure technicalities are set and i still have enough to pay the bills. that's life for you right there -- the arts doesn't necessarily pay the bills. at least not at the beginning. i hope that you guys pray for our success though. we badly need all the prayers we can get. ♥